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| Humpback Whales put on a show in Maui |
Of course, the main reason you go to Maui in the winter is
whale watching. Specifically, Humpback Whale watching because almost all the
whales in Maui are Humpbacks. There are rare sightings of False Killer Whales, which
are actually large dolphins, and Pilot Whales and I understand Sperm Whales may venture close on the other side of the island.
But, this is Humpback country.
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| Humpback tail slapping |
Although Humpback Whales can be spotted throughout the entire Hawaiian
Island chain, the majority are found between Maui, Moloka'i and Lānaʻi.
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| Great whale watching from Ma'alaea Harbor |
Whale Watching Trips
When we go, we (almost) always whale watch (and snorkel) with the
Pacific Whale Foundation, which is a research and environmental support organization in addition to being a commercial enterprise. I feel better than my money is
partially supporting efforts to protect the worlds’ oceans and the creatures in
them.
The Pacific Whale Foundation has very nice boats, great naturalists and
sails many of the trips from Māʻalaea Harbor, which is less traffic and has
much better parking than Lahaina Harbor, which they also use.
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| That's Ma'alaea in the background; 2014 photo |
In general, I am very pleased with the PacWhale trips, but the one out of Lahaina was a bust. I do realize that they can't control the whales, but they CAN control how long they spend with specific whales. We came upon a mama, calf and escort just as we left the harbor. They were swimming about without doing anything dramatic. Yet, we spent a full quarter of the trip watching them not do anything. Meanwhile, we could se breaches, tails slaps and other behaviors in the distance. Then, we found another similar group and did the same thing. Boring!
We should have moved on. As it was, we hardly left the harbor. The only saving grace was dolphins that I will discuss in a later post.
In this post, I will talk about and use photos of the whales I saw on "big boat" trips with both Caty and Scott. All and all I went on two snorkel/whale-watching trips, two afternoon trips, one sunset trip and one morning trip. Five were out of Māʻalaea Harbor and one was out of Lahaina.
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| Diving whale |
In addition, Caty and I went on two Zodiac whale-watching trips out of Lahaina with Ultimate Whalewatch & Snorkel because we hoped to get closer to whales and take some underwater photos.
There isn't a lot of sea life other than whales, but sometimes you see sharks, Mahi, Mahi, Flying Fish or dolphins.
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| Spinner dolphins from the boat deck |
I will save the Zodiac trips, snorkeling and other critters for other posts and concentrate on just whales here.
There is strange thing about the Pacific Whale Foundation –
it can be tricky to find certain trips on their website. Scott and I knew they had a
2:00 p.m., but could never find it listed online. Instead we booked in person. When I tried to book the same 4:30 p.m. Caty
had already booked, I had to find it on fareharbor.com. Odd!
They have a wide variety of trips, including some that serve meals. But, why would you want to spend time standing in a buffet line or eating?
There are whales to be seen!
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| Nothing is more beautiful than a Humpback Whale fluking down |
About Humpbacks in Maui
Humpback Whales are rorquals, members of the Balaenopteridae
family that includes the Blue Whales, Fin Whales, Bryde's Whales, Sei Whales and Minke Whales.
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| A nice dive |
The Whales migrate to Maui annually from nutrient-rich Alaskan
waters where they have spent the summer bulking up on krill and small fish.
Pregnant females go to Maui because the shallow waters are a warm and safe
place to give birth to calves that do not have enough body fat (blubber) to
survive in cold arctic seas. Males
travel to Maui to mate with the females.
Non-pregnant females also travel south
to mate. Females typically breed about every three years, but some do mate
immediately after giving birth.
Only about half of the population of North Pacific Humpbacks go to Maui – some go to Mexico or
other Pacific islands – but that still amounts to about 10,000 of the giant
beasts. Some stay behind in the cold waters of Alaska, but the ones
that travel to Maui end up there some time during the period from December 15 - May
15. The peak is December - March.
This year, according to the Pacific Whale Foundation, the
initial Maui count was down about 49 percent from a normal year. It could be
that they are showing up later, it could be a real drop in population or it could mean some of the whales are going somewhere else. It is too early to
know.
However, we still saw a lot. I don't even know if I can estimate, but it's not unusual to see 30 or so on a single whale-watching trip. And, as you drive along the coast, you constantly see blows and breaches.
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| That little puff in the distance is a whale blow |
The world's fifth largest whale, adult Humpbacks are usually
39-52 feet long and weigh about 35-50 tons, although one ancient female was
recorded at 89 feet and 90 tons. Like raptors, female Humpbacks tend to be
larger than males. That’s probably for the best because the babies they are
delivering are 12-20 feet long and weigh 2,000-3,500 lbs. at birth.
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| Mama and baby |
Of course, Humpbacks’ weight fluctuates rather widely
because, while they spend all summer gorging, they do not eat at all when they
are in Maui. Adult whales lose up to a third of their body weight during their “winter
vacation.”
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| Humpbacks don't eat at all when in Maui; one sign of weight loss if visible vertebrae |
On the flip side, calves consume an average of 100-150 gallons
of rich whale milk per day, gaining an average of 100 lbs. every 24 hours. That
milk is about 40 percent fat and resembles light pink cottage cheese more than
milk. Babies don’t suckle. Rather, the mother expels globs of milk into the water
and the babies suck it in by shaping their tongues into a straw of sorts.
Occasionally, dolphins will try to sneak in to steal some of the highly
nutritious milk – I actually saw this four years ago in Maui. The mother was not
happy – and the dolphin was taking a big risk!
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| A baby whale fin |
In addition to the time they spend in Maui, the Humpbacks
spend six to eight weeks getting there and the same getting back. They
generally migrate in a continuous, non-stop journey at an average speed of 3-5 mph,
without eating (yeah, some do have an occasional snack, but not very often).
While whale season is about four months long, individual whales aren’t in Maui the entire
time. Arrivals and departures are staggered, with moms and calves staying the
longest to fatten up the babies.
Interestingly, autopsies of Humpback whales have revealed trace
amounts of magnetite in the forefront of their brains. This magnetic substance probably
helps them find their way in the vast ocean.
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| Humpback roll |
Humpback Behaviors
If you go whale watching in the summer in Alaska or New
England or wherever whales are in the summer, you’ll see lots of feeding
behaviors. This includes deep, prolonged dives and bubble net feeding, where a group of whales
blows bubbles to gather up schools of fish. They then dive deep, returning to the
surface to scoop the fish up in open mouths. Humpbacks are baleen feeders: they
gulp in large amounts of water filled with food, clamp down their jaws that are
lined with hair-like baleen and then express the water through this natural
filter, retaining the fish or krill they have taken in.
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| Whales bubble net feeding near Boston; taken in the late 90s |
While the whales are in Maui, you don't see this, but you can observe lots of unique
winter behaviors. This includes battles between competing males, males hanging
around females and their calves trying to curry favor by “protecting” the
newborns in hopes the moms will accept them as their next mates and moms
teaching babies to roll and dive. Although Humpbacks are by nature solitary, in
Maui, they are often seen in these small pods.
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| A female and an "escort" trying to curry favor by offering protection for her and her baby |
Some behaviors – breaching,
tail-slapping, rolling or fin-slapping – don’t have clear explanations. But, they sure are fun to watch.
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| Mom and baby breach on the horizon |
Back in 2014, we had some at very close range and I got this
picture.
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| Maui, 2014 |
Nothing that good on this trip, but I did get some
fun pictures.
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| Calf breach |
And, sometimes, all you get is the splash!
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| Missed it again! |
Those splashes are big! I saw one from the air when I flew in.
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| Boom! |
There are a lot of theories on why whales breach: using the force of the impact to slough
barnacles off of their skin; exercising their tail muscles for the long journey
back home; looking around; or just having fun.
Many whales breach, but Humpbacks are the most prolific
breachers. Despite being only the fifth largest whale, the Humpback's peduncle muscle is the strongest muscle known in the animal kingdom. The peduncle runs down the whale's lower body to the tail and is so strong that even a
fully grown adult is able to propel itself entirely out of the water with only
two or three flaps of its tail.
In addition to breaches, Maui whales often engage in
tail-slapping, where they rhythmically slam their flukes into the water,
producing big splashes.
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| Vigorous tail slapping |
Sometimes they slap from a typical swimming position;
sometimes while lying on their backs. It can be dramatic and it can go on for a
long time.
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| The Humpback Whale tail has the strongest muscle known |
Humpbacks are also often observed slapping their huge
pectoral fins, once again creating a lot of splash and a pretty dramatic
spectacle.
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| Pectoral fins average 15 feet long |
Humpbacks have the proportionally longest pectoral fins of all whales; an
adult’s is about 15 feet long and have been seen as long as 20 feet. We saw quite a bit of this behaviors, including watching a
mom and calf slapping in unison...
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| Baby imitates Mom |
... and watching an adult, first tail slap ...
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| Vigorous tail slap |
... and then roll on its back with fins outstretched ...
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| A dramatic roll |
Blowholes
Because whales are mammals, they must breathe air with lungs rather than filtering oxygen out of water with gills. When underwater, they hold their breath just like other mammals. But, instead of having to lift their entire heads out of the water to take a breath like we would, they have blowholes on top of their heads. That way, they can barely surface to breathe.
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| A blow cloud lingers in the air |
When whales breathe, they forcefully blast out spent air and take in a large quantity of fresh air. Because this creates a visible cloud, people always assume that they are blowing water out of their lungs. This is not the case. Instead, they are vaporizing water that has collected at the surface of the blowhole.
And, of course, what you see the most are blows – that puff of water vapor propelled into the air when a Humpback surfaces to breathe. That “blow” is usually your
first sign there is a whale nearby. And, at the right angle, it can create a
rainbow.
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| Two adults |
After the whale has inhaled and before it dives, a muscular flap seals off the blowhole, preventing water from getting in and air from getting out.
Humpbacks have two nostrils in their blowhole, as do all baleen whales. Toothed whales and dolphins have single blowholes. This is probably because toothed whales are generally smaller and faster than other whales and typically spend shorter periods of time underwater before surfacing for air. They don't need to absorb as much oxygen at the surface, so their relatively smaller bodies don't need the extra air passageway.
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| Humpbacks, sides, have two blowholes: the Spinner Dolphin, center, has one |
One exception is the Sperm Whale, which is a very large toothed whale that can dive for more than an hour at a time. Its single blowhole is located left of center of the frontal area of the snout and is actually its left nostril. The right nostril doesn't have an opening. That's just weird.
Baleen whales, which include the largest animals on Earth (indeed the Blue Whale is the largest animal that has EVER lived on Earth), must be able to access the oxygen they need to support their massive bodies while underwater. Hence, a double blowhole.
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| A calf's blowhole |
When Humpbacks sleep at the surface, they
must continue to breathe. Possibly only half of their brain sleeps at one time,
with one half managing the surface-blow-dive process without awakening the
other half.
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| A good view of the length of the whale |
Diving
The next most common way to see a whale is when its back
rises above the surface as it is taking a breath or preparing to dive. When
Humpbacks dive, they round up their bodies and point their heads down, exposing their relatively small dorsal fins.
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| Humpbacks, left, have small dorsal fins compared to Orcas, right |
It’s
this rounding that gave them their name because the back forms a distinctive
hump.
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| Round-out dive |
Sometimes, when shallow diving, they just round up and sink down – called a "round-out dive." When
diving deeper, they raise their tails out of the water and use that peduncle
muscle to propel themselves down.
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| Fluke dive |
These tail flukes are unique to each whale and are used by researchers to identify and record specific whales. Flukes vary significantly – the underside ranging from all black to almost completely white, often with unique patterns.
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| All my flukes |
Most research organizations keep photos of flukes and assign identities to whales so that they can study each whale's travel history (including comparing to fluke photo captured in summer habitats and on migration routes), health, age, sex and reproductive history.
Often, you can look up whales you have seen to learn about them. I haven't done that yet, but I should!
It would be interesting to see if I have photographed the same whale on multiple occasions.
The Pacific Whale Foundation is researching how whales move about the bay in Maui and asks that whale-watching participants sent in photos of flukes with information on the time and the particular trip.
I submitted 27 photos.
Spyhop
Occasionally, a whale will spyhop – rise about halfway out
of the water to look around. Unlike a breach, spyhopping is controlled and slow and can last for minutes at a time. Generally, the whale does not appear to be treading water to maintain its elevated position. Instead it uses its exceptional buoyancy and strong pectoral fins to hold itself up. Typically the whale's eyes will be slightly above or below the surface of the water, enabling it to see whatever is nearby on the surface. Because the eyes are set far back, a great deal of snout has to be out of the water to do this.
We saw a calf spyhop in front of another tour
boat. I didn’t get the shot, but Scott did.
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| Spyhop; Photo: Scott Stevens |
Humpback Whales are notoriously curious, so in Maui they often approach boats to have a look. When migrating, they may use spyhopping to get their bearings and check their progress.
Physical Characteristics
Humpback Whales have what is called countershading; they are
black on the top and white on the bottom, which works as camouflage regardless
of whether you are viewing them from above, where the dark hides them, or from
below, where the light works.
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| Humpback Whale countershading |
In Maui’s clear waters, you can often see the
light parts if you are close enough.
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| The turquoise is the whale's white underside |
The Humpback’s head and lower jaw are covered with knobs
called tubercles, which are hair follicles and are characteristic of the
species. You can sometimes see them when the whale lifts its head out of the
water or breaches. You can also see large collections of barnacles that attach themselves to whales and my cause itching and irritation.
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| Tubercles and barnacles on the whale's snout |
Whales also leave a distinctive “footprint” on the water
after they dive. Whalers believed that this flat, smooth area was an
oil slick because they were hunting whales for oil. It isn’t oil; it
is simply displaced water.
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| Footprint after a dive |
Singing
Both male and female Humpback Whales vocalize, but only
males produce the long, loud, complex "song" for which the species is
famous.
Each song consists of several sounds in a low register, varying in
amplitude and frequency and typically lasting from 10 to 20 minutes.
Individuals may sing continuously for more than 24 hours.
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| Fluking down |
Whales have no vocal
cords and do not have to exhale to produce music (that would be hard
underwater). Instead, they produce sound via a larynx-like structure in the
throat, but exactly how it works still isn’t understood.
Males produce a complex song lasting 10 to 20 minutes that they repeat for hours at a time. Its purpose is not clear, though it may have a
role in mating.
Recent research suggests that the song attracts
multiple males, rather than attracting single females. The females may then be
attracted to these groups of males, making it easier for them to assess and
select a mate.
It's like a line-up. The scientists' ideas behind this behavior is called the "wing-man" theory.
The songs are specific to specific group of whales. The Pacific
community has its own song that differs from Atlantic Humpbacks. The song
is tweaked each year, changing over time. Whales – males and females – also make other sounds to
communicate, such as grunts, groans, snorts and barks.
Our whale-watch trips all lowered a hydrophone to listen to
singing whales.
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| Naturalist asks kids to help with the hydrophone |
Every time it was good, but on one trip it was AAA-MAAAZ-ING. Listen to a recording Scott made of that hydrophone HERE.
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| Songs of the Humpback Whale was a bestseller |
In 1970, a record called Songs of the Humpback Whale by bio-acoustician Roger Payne publicly demonstrated Whale vocalizations for the first time.
It became the best-selling environmental album in history, selling more than 100,000 copies and going multi-platinum.
How did a scientist become a record producer?
Payne had a background in bat and owl echolocation. In 1966, he heard about Whale recordings made by a Navy engineer who captured the sounds while manning a top-secret hydrophone station off the coast of Bermuda, listening for Russian submarines.
Payne requested copies and discovered that the songs repeated continuously for up to 24 hours, with the shortest songs in the six-minute range and the longest more than 30 minutes. When he graphed the songs, the structure became obvious.
That was monumental work. But, the clever part was releasing the album, which raised awareness of the intelligence and culture of Whales. The album sparked a worldwide "Save The Whales" movement, leading to the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment 10-year global moratorium on commercial whaling (observed by all but a few nations).
It is amazing that whale songs weren't really discovered until the 1960s!
Excerpts from Payne's album have been used in songs by Judy Collins, Kate Bush and Glass Wave; in the symphonic suite, And God Created Great Whales that was carried aboard the Voyager spaceships; and in the soundtrack for the movie, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.
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| Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home |
In 2010, Songs of the Humpback Whale was inducted into the National Recording Registry among recordings that are "culturally, historically or aesthetically important, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States."
We were told you can often hear whales while snorkeling, but I
didn’t. However, we did hear one when we got up close on a Zodiac (I will post about that later).
Protected Status
Humpbacks are an endangered species protected by U.S. Federal and Hawai’i State laws. The Pacific Whale Foundation follows all the
prescribed rules, including never approaching within 100 yards of a whale and slowing motors when whales are in the vicinity. While there are rules about
approaching whales, sometimes whales approach boats. And, that’s just cool.
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| Sometimes the whales are very close |
When they are close, the captain must cut the engines, not moving until it is safe to do so. They refer to this hostage-taking as a "Maui mugging."
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| This is NOT cropped |
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| A sunset breach |
Whale hunting is probably responsible for Maui's big Humpback population. They were not observed in Hawai'ian waters until the mid-19th century, because the North Pacific Right Whale used to dominate before it was hunted to near-extinction.
Although hunting also reduced the Humpback's population (by a shocking 90 percent!), they made a comeback after the 1966 whaling
moratorium, recovering to 80,000 animals. The Right Whale has not been so resilient and is still rarely seen. Entanglement in fishing gear, collisions with ships and noise pollution
continue to affect the Humpback Whales, however.
Genetic research in mid-2014 by the British Antarctic Survey confirmed that the separate populations of Humpbacks in the North Atlantic, North Pacific and Southern and Indian Oceans are more distinct than previously thought.
Some biologists believe that these should be regarded as separate subspecies and that they are evolving independently. I have photographed many Atlantic Humpbacks, but never one from the Southern Hemisphere.
Whale watching is, indeed, one of the most popular things to do in Maui. And there is a great deal of whale research going on all winter.
Still, no one – no one anywhere – has ever photographed or even witnessed a Humpback birth or Humpback mating.
Never.
I find it interesting that with all we know, we know so
little.
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| This flukes shows a little wear |
Any every whale watch is a new, exciting experience. How
could you ever get tired of this?
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| Calf breach |
Oh, and the scenery ain't bad either ...
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| The West Maui Mountains |
Especially, when you get a pretty sunset ...
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| Maui sunset |
... or a Hawai'ian rainbow ...
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| Rainbows are common in Maui |
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| Chocolate, coconut and haupia |
Food!
Near the Pacific Whale Foundation office are a couple of
nice eateries.
Get an ice cream sandwich made with a chocolate/coconut cookie
and haupia (Hawai'ian coconut pudding) ice cream at Hula Cookies & Ice Cream or a shave ice with
a scoop of lilikoi (passionfruit) ice cream on top.
Yummy.
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| Does it get any better than this? |
Trip 1 date: January 31-February 8, 2019
Trip 2 date: February 25-March 2, 2019
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